Readability Now Free, Coming soon to iPhones and iPads

Instapaper, arguably the most popular and well liked read it later service around, will soon be facing some serious competition on iOS. Readability announced via their blog today that not only are they finally offering their (basic) service for free, but that it’s also coming to iDevices:

With this release, Readability is available at no cost. Sign-up and you’ll have your own profile and reading list in no time. Both Readability accounts and our companion apps will always be completely free, but we also offer a premium experience for users who want additional features and an easy way to support their favorite writers and publishers.

Readability is on its way to the iTunes App Store. Our new apps for the iPhone and iPad are free and undeniably beautiful. We’ve partnered with the design wizards at Teehan+Lax to deliver a simple, elegant experience featuring exclusive typography from some of the best in type: Hoefler & Frere-Jones. There’s never been a better way to read the web on iOS. Readability for iOS is submitted and awaiting approval from Apple.

Readability strives to provide users with a seamless reading experience on the web. Like Instapaper, you can save articles for viewing at a later time, and similar to Safari’s Reader functionality, the Readability bookmarklet allows you to strip away all the excess found on a webpage and be left with only a column of text. The new free account allow you to view up to 30 of the most recent articles you’ve saved. Meanwhile, the Premium account will cost a minimum of $5 per month (works much like a donation system), where 70% of it will go towards the publishers you’ve chosen to consume on Readability.